Ian would be lost in his XXXXL shirt now
HE’S DELIGHTED WITH HIS NEW LIFE AFTER LOSING MORE THAN EIGHT STONES
STRUGGLING to catch a breath – Ian Miller knew something had to change.
The quality assurance manager ballooned to 23 stones as his work left him almost living out of a suitcase and relying on takeaway and restaurant meals.
But it wasn’t until he saw holiday snaps of himself after a trip in August 2019 that he realised how unhappy his appearance was making him.
When a close friend started at Slimming World, his quick progress inspired Ian to join up that September and, one year on, he’s shed 14 inches from his waistline and an impressive eight-and-a-half stone in weight.
The 58-year-old from Chesterle-Street said: “Eventually, I took my first reluctant steps into the Masonic Hall in Birtley.
“I was thinking that it wasn’t for me and that I would only go for a couple of weeks so that I could say that I had tried it.
“I picked up my pack, read it and tried my best to stick to it.
“Next week I could hardly believe it when the scales showed that I had lost 11 lbs.
“I continued to go to the group and even started to enjoy it.
“It was great to get help and support from people who had achieved their target weight loss as well as from people that were struggling a little and taking a more scenic route to lose weight, they understood the journey even more.
“The group helped to keep me focussed.
“I also decided to set myself little targets every week and before long the weight loss started to mount up and I was losing more than I had thought would be possible.
“My initial target was in sight and so I decided to set an even lower target, getting back to the weight I was when I was at school. It felt unbelievable that I could possibly achieve this.”
Ian began to choose what he wanted to eat restaurant menus in advance to reduce the temptation for when he arrived.
After swapping pizza, takeaways and meals with chips for healthy Slimming World recipes, Ian’s weighted continued to drop off and he needed to order a new uniform for work.
Now proudly fitting into a large rather than a XXXXL, Ian is delighted about his transformation.
He added: “It’s fantastic being able to go into any shop to buy clothes rather than the limited choice of outsize stockists.
“I’m enjoying choosing clothes and starting to build up a whole new wardrobe.
“I still look at trousers and tops and think that’ll never fit and surprise myself when it actually does.
“I haven’t set out to exercise more, but I have noticed that the number of steps I take every day has increased by about 3000 a day and that my resting heart rate has reduced by 14 beats per minute.
“Without these health benefits, I cannot imagine how I would have managed through the Covid pandemic.
“I look back at the last 15 months and can’t believe how successful my journey has been.
“I’m proud of what I have achieved with the help of friends in group and family at home and am determined to keep my weight off forever.”